The flashy rookie import scored his 21st of the season on a fantastic individual effort midway through the third period to force overtime but the Hitmen fell 2-1 to the Kelowna Rockets in the extra frame.

Pushkarev failed to pick up Tyler Mosienko early in the extra session and the Kelowna Rockets sniper made him pay.

Mosienko ruined the storybook ending early in the extra session when he took a pass, walked in untouched on Justin Pogge and blasted a shot over the Hitmen 'tender's glove 18 seconds into OT to keep Kelowna unbeaten at home in their last 25 outings (23-0-2).

All things considered, Hitmen co-coach Dean Evason was willing to look at the positive and work with Pushkarev on the negative.

"That's what he gives you," Evason said. "He's got that great offensive flair but he makes a mistake in overtime and doesn't pick up his man.

"He has to be accountable for that but the offensive upside is that he allowed us to get to overtime."

With the Hitmen down 1-0 midway through the final frame, Pushkarev lost his glove while undressing Kelowna d-man Kyle Cumiskey but darted towards the net, outwaited goaltender Derek Yeomans and scored Calgary's first goal in 1:25:20 of play.

The Hitmen (33-22-8-5) picked up a point with the OT loss and will take a three-point cushion into tomorrow night's crucial home date against the Red Deer Rebels.

The Rockets reassumed top spot in the B.C. Division and the overall standings.

Evason wasn't pleased with his club's poor discipline.

"We were happy with the way we competed," said Evason, whose club was blanked 5-0 at Kootenay 24 hours earlier.

"We didn't like our discipline but when you challenge players to play with some fight, be aggressive and finish checks, sometimes they get carried away."